GOP candidates face off in forum at McMurry

Joy Lewis/Reporter-News
Taylor County Republican candidates participate in a forum hosted by the Republican Women West Central Texas and the Pachyderm Club of Abilene on Monday at McMurry University. From left, Lela Pittenger, Ricky Bishop, Les Bruce, Arturo Casarez, John Cummins, Lydia Long, Mike McAuliffe, Joy Ellinger and Pat Hippeley.

While the stage Monday night at McMurry University was chock full of Republican candidates touting their conservative credentials, one candidate took it a step further.

"The root word of 'conservative' is 'conserve.' If you look in the dictionary, 'conserve' means to preserve or to keep intact. I don't want to preserve this government in its current state, I want to abolish most of it," said Lela Pittenger, a Jim Ned High School graduate who's running to fill the seat soon to be vacated by the retiring Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.

"I'm not a conservative. I'm an abolitionist," she said.

That line drew raucous applause from the approximately 70 on hand for a candidate's forum sponsored by the Republican Women of West Central Texas and the Pachyderm Club of Abilene.

John Cummins, Lydia Long and Mike McAuliffe all offered different views when asked about the most important Justice of the Peace issue.

For Cummins, it is the office budget.

"The JP office should be sustained through the fines and fees of the court," Cummins said. "My main priority will be ensuring no tax increases for running the office."

Long said her main concern is the court's relationship with the community.

"I've been making the rounds and most people think the JP only does two things: marry people and declare people dead. There are over three pages of fine print detailing the JP's duties. Currently, the court has no relationship with the community. I want this to be a court for the people," Long said.

McAuliffe, who spent 21 years working as a school resource officer for the Abilene Police Department, said truancy is his greatest concern.

"I've met with kids who've missed 150 to 200 classes each semester, which is just unacceptable," McAuliffe said, adding he'd like to put a JP court on a school campus every few months to address the problem.